By now the entire Internet knows that the recent haul of nine missing episodes of Doctor Who means that The Enemy Of The World is now complete, and The Web Of Fear is only missing episode three. Both stories are available on iTunes as we speak, and both have DVD releases confirmed (though whether episode three of Web will be animated for release, or whether it will be the telesnap iTunes version is a bit more unclear), with a spiffy new take on the DVD cover design [purists don't need to panic, the spines will be the same].
But what are these two fifth season stories about? And are they any good? Here's the lowdown...
The Enemy Of The World
This - Pat Troughton's favourite Who adventure - is a bit of an oddity for Who - it's an international spy mystery not far off the tone of a James Bond flick, and follows in the footsteps of The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew's Eve by featuring the lead actor in a dual role, with Troughton also playing the villain of the piece.
The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land on Earth in the near future. A series of catastrophic earthquakes have shaken the planet, resulting in political upheaval. At the same time, the famous scientist Salamander introduces his Suncatcher satellites, which he claims will feed the starving corners of the world. But the Doctor soon discovers a link between the satellites and the earthquakes, uncovering a plot by Salamander to take over the world.
It has earthquakes, volcanoes, helicoptor chases, and trips to Australia and Hungary (which both look suspiciously similar to the areas surrounding the BBC studios, but...) You'll never see a Who like it.
Reaction to this story tends to be mixed - you'll either love it for being a departure from the norm, or you'll hate it for the same reason. For my money, though, this is a great adventure, full of international intrigue, glam Bond Girl expies, and a truly unique atmosphere for the series.
As unique as its tone may be, though, this story feels very much a forebearer for Season Seven. While The Invasion is the story commonly regarded as the "backdoor pilot" for Pertwee's debut Earthbound season, establishing his connection with UNIT and their mission to protect the Earth, the seeds for the political and international edge of stories like The Ambassadors Of Death, and of the threat of man-made natural disasters of Inferno, are definitely sown here.
Keep an eye on the chef - he's always been a popular character, and now that more fans will get the chance to experience this story, he's sure to become a cult favourite.
Also, trivia fans, two actors in this serial (Milton Johns and George Pravda) went on to play a Gallifreyan Castellan in later stories.
The Enemy Of The World is out on DVD on the 25th of November. Oh, and it ends on a cliffhanger that leads directly in to...
The Web Of Fear
This is likely to be the one that everyone goes for first on iTunes - it has a (deserved) reputation as an all-time classic.
Featuring a rematch with The Great Intelligence (who of course recently returned to Who in the form of Richard E Grant) and his robotic yetis, this also marks the debut of soon-to-be Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Sadly for Who history buffs, the episode where the character makes his debut is the one episode of the story still missing.
The TARDIS materialises in modern-day London, where the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria discover the city deserted and covered in a weird web-like substance. Meeting up with the military and Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in the London Underground, they learn that the Great Intelligence and its Yeti are active once again. And this time, the Intelligence's main goal is none other than the possession of the mind of the Doctor.
This is a bloody brilliant story. In many ways it rehashes a lot of the plot points of previous Yeti tale The Abominable Snowmen - Jack Watling even returns as Prof. Travers - but it improves on its predecessor in every possible way. The Yeti are redesigned to be far more fearsome. Open plains are replaced with tight, dark tunnels to make the sense of claustrophobia and menace far more potent. And the modern-day UK [for the time] setting brings the threat home in a way that the original couldn't quite manage.
There are many reasons why the discovery of this story is significant - introducing the Brig, finally allowing for a home release of a story featuring the popular Yeti, allowing for fans who own it's quasi-sequel The Invasion to see how it links together... But really there's one far more important factor in why (re)discovering Web matters so much.
It's just fucking brilliant.
The Web Of Fear is out on DVD in February.
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